


Inktober 2019

by Anexor



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), Invisible Inc. (Video Game), Stellaris (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 02:46:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anexor/pseuds/Anexor
Summary: Doing my own version of the inktober challenge by writing out each prompt, going through my favorite fandoms.





	1. Ring

The _Theta 6_ orbital station shook once again. Another one of many to add to the growing list from the past month. Maintenance still struggled to find the cause of the mysterious quakes, and many projects had to be postponed until the shaking stopped.  
“Team 5, check those engines again, scan them over as thoroughly as you can. Team 4, I want you to look through all the experiment chambers, one of those might be acting up,” the maintenance manager, Codrales cur'Fargeth, issued out orders to the teams, splitting them across the ring-shaped station.  
Codrales leaned back in his chair. He was determined to find the cause of these quakes. He felt heat on his back and turned his chair to see the nearby star shining from only a few million kilometers away. He was thankful that at least the radiation-resistant windows held up against the onslaught of space.  
The orbital station was a masterpiece, a testament to the work and effort of the Tarassi Sovereignty. Nearly five generations had gone through to build the _Theta 6_, and the science done on it still pushed the nation forwards. It was a shame that the recent quakes had halted most progress.  
Another quake hit the station, and Codrales found himself gripping his desk to keep from falling over. A light on his desk clicked on and he grabbed his transmitter.  
“Team 5, I’m getting a reading from your area, what’s going on over there?”  
He checked the light again. Sector 4, just above the engine rooms, the ‘Unknown Error’ light was blinking. He always hated those lights, they left nothing to go on. He waited for a response, sometimes the transmitters were slow, but now should not have been one of those times.  
“Team 5? Respond damnit!”  
He waited. Still no response.  
“Team 7, you’re closest to them, go find out what happened.”  
“Roger that, on our way now.”  
So, communications weren’t broken, Team 5 just wasn’t responding. Great. That didn’t bode good things. The transmitter suddenly came to life with static, and Codrales struggled to make out the words.  
“Te██F█v███████omethi█g█████outs██e█████mas█iv████████████.”  
The transmitter cut off and Codrales looked behind him. There, floating between them and the star was a leviathan of a beast. The transmitter clattered to the ground as it continued issuing static and shouting. The beast was attacking them. Beams of light flashed from it and shook the station as they hit.  
All the defenses on the station couldn’t kill that thing.  
Codrales found himself running towards the nearest escape pod. He cursed himself for being so overweight, as he found himself panting quickly before he had even left his office.  
By the time Codrales reached the nearest escape pod port, there was only one remaining. He threw himself into the pod and started the launch sequence, feeling the pod shudder to life around him.  
The pod launched from the station, shooting off towards the nearest hyperlane away from the solar system. Codrales looked out the window just in time to see the station split in half by the leviathan, killing unknown billions of people. It wouldn’t have just been Tarassi either, all of the other nations that had interacted with them had at least a few thousand of their own scientists on board.  
As the pod started the hyperlane sequence, Codrales froze. He could see the beast, see its eyes, larger than any planet he’d ever set foot on or even seen scans of.  
It was staring at him.


	2. Mindless

The bug wandered the tunnels, Mindless, soulless. Its only thought was of searing light, and the agony filling its boy and separating its plates, infectious ooze bulging outwards from its body. It grasped at its head, trying desperately to pull the light away and bring back its mind, but it was only met with more searing pain as the light flashed in its head, blinding it with its radiance.  
Movement ahead grabbed the attention of the bug, and it looked over sharply in the direction that it came from. There was another bug over there, calmly walking around as if nothing was wrong. Didn’t the other bug realize its pain? It looked as if it didn’t care about anything that was happening. It made the bug angry.  
The bug was blinded by anger and light as it found itself charging towards the smaller masked bug. Its huge footsteps thundered along the ground as it slammed into the wall. The smaller bug apparently managed to get behind it as they slashed at it with a sharp nail.  
A loud roar escaped from the bug as it swung it’s club down on the bug. Again, they somehow managed to dash to the side and avoided the blow, slashing once again with the nail. The light had become a searing throb as it felt strength course through its body.  
Another swing of the club was met with a satisfying smash as the smaller bug was knocked into a nearby wall. The infected bug stomped towards the small thing, preparing to smash it with the club and be rid of the thing.  
Before the club could fall, a powerful scream shot upwards from the bug, soul and void coming together to knock the bug backwards and off of its feet. The smaller bug got to its feet and slashed at it, slicing it with the nail until the breath left its body and the club thumped to the ground.  
Finally, the light cleared from the bug’s head, and it slumped against the ground, mindless.


	3. Bait

“Alright, this is a rescue mission, I want you three in and out before they know what hit them.”  
Central’s voice cut out on the coms and Decker cued the team to move. They split up and moved through the facility like ghosts, leaving nothing behind to betray their presence.  
“Alarm levels holding steady, you haven't been noticed yet," Incognita chimed in.  
Banks tapped into Incognita’s feed and looked at the surrounding rooms. There were far too many security cameras for her liking, but most of them were powered off. She nearly jumped at the ai’s ‘helpful’ advice when it started speaking.  
“The walls have eyes,” Incognita noted, sending the message to the other agents.  
“I hate when it says that,” Shalem muttered over the comms as he peeked through a nearby door.  
Quick thinking kept him from being spotted as he dashed behind a nearby plant display before the security guard on the other side opened it and stepped into the room with him.  
“At least she doesn’t whisper it all creepily, it’s more of a matter-of-fact thing, I think,” Banks said.  
“Still doesn’t make it a less creepy statement,” Decker said, pulling the credits out of the vault in front of him before shutting it quietly and hearing the locks click. “I’d rather just hear: ‘Hey, there are cameras everywhere’.”  
“Heads up, I found the cells,” Shalem said, tapping into Incognita to start hacking the control panel. “There’s a daemon on the controls, can’t read what it is.”  
“This feels too easy, this is supposed to be a high security facility,” Decker said, looking around him. “Has anyone found the exit yet?”  
“No…” Banks said, tapping into Incognita to check the map. “Oh, shit.”  
“What is it?” Shalem asked pulling up the map.  
There was no exit. All the rooms had been searched already, and not one of them yielded a teleport pad. Incognita finished hacking the console, and the facility filled with the sound of alarms.  
“What’s going on in there, you guys, Central said, pulling up incognita’s view to see what was happening. “The whole system is lighting up.”  
“There’s no prisoner, the whole thing was a trap!” Banks said as she ducked behind cover out of sight from a guard running by.  
Shalem, meanwhile, was trading fire with the guards near the cells. A tossed grenade forced him to duck through a doorway before it detonated, revealing a gaping hole in the side of the facility.  
“I think I found our way out of here, but we’re going to have to jump,” he said, firing off a few more shots at the guards.  
“I’m sorry, did you just say _jump?_” Banks asked over the comms.  
“Central, how long until you can get to us?” Decker asked.  
“Not long. I’m already on my way, you just need to hold out for a few more minutes,” Central replied.  
“Copy that,” Decker said. “You heard the woman, let’s move!”  
“I’m sorry, I’m still caught on the fact that we’re jumping out of a 25-story building with no guarantee of landing on the jet,” Banks said, dashing through the corridors.  
“You can’t honestly tell me you didn’t sign up without expecting things like this to go down,” Shalem said, making sure that the guards at the cells were dead.  
“I’m a hacker, not a stuntwoman,” Banks shot back as she rounded the corner to the cells.  
The jet came in to view from the hole in the wall as the door opened into the air.  
“Where’s Decker?” Shalem asked.  
“I’m right here! Let’s go!” Decker said as he entered the room with more guards coming in behind him.  
Shalem was the first to jump over the edge and land on the jet, with Decker close behind.  
“I did not sign up for this,” Banks said, jumping out of the building and into the jet.


End file.
